The present invention relates to medication infusion apparatuses carried by the user to continuously deliver medicine into the user""s body.
Many of those who need medication constantly and frequently use medication infusion apparatuses. There are two kinds of such apparatuses. The first one, such as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,351, 4,633,878, 5,785,681, and 5,957,890, the apparatuses are transplanted into the user""s bodies. Transplanting artificial devices into a human""s body will result in many difficult problems. Hence, these apparatuses are rarely applied to the users.
The apparatuses of the other kind are external to the users and are more practical to most users. Examples include the MiniMed 508 insulin pump produced by MiniMed and those disclosed in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,146,360, 6,099,502, 6,083,201, 6,045,537, 6,019,747, 5,957,889, 5,919,167, 5,891,096, 5,882,343, 5,807,337, 5,665,065, 5,658,252, 5,643,211, 5,637,095, 5,618,269, 5,578,005, 5,342,313, 5,178,609, 5,135,500, 4,997,420, 4,931,041, 4,929,234, 4,921,487, 4,676,122, 4,585,439, 4,493,704, 4,381,006. All these apparatuses have a main apparatus that is linked to a needle or cannula directly or via a pipe. The main apparatus includes a reservoir, a syringe, or the similar to hold the medication to be delivered to the user. It also includes all the mechanics to force and to administrate the medication to be delivered. It is large, heavy, thick, and hard that the user feels very inconvenient because he or she feels to be connected to a heavy object via a pipe. It is inconvenient to carry such a device. My previous invention xe2x80x9cMedicine Delivery Apparatus with Flat Reservoirxe2x80x9d with application Ser. No. 09/654239 filed on Sep. 2 2000 is the only means that presents a conceptual apparatus that the users can tape the apparatus to their skin. However, it is hard. Bending the body, the user will feel uncomfortable.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,058 proposed an implantable apparatus where the medicine is refilled and the medicine container is not replaced. The apparatus is a whole hard piece. It is not to be carried under the user""s clothes or attached to the user""s skin.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,891,097 proposed an apparatus where the medicine is pressed out of the apparatus by the gas generated by an electrochemical device. The voltage of the current applied to the electrochemical device is much higher than the flat battery. Hence, the apparatus is uncomfortable to be carried under the user""s clothes or attached to the user""s skin.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,704 proposed an apparatus where the medicine is in a flexible bag and is pressed out of the bag by the fluid pumped in the bladder inside of the medicine bag. Since the medicine bag is flexible, the medicine pressed out when the medicine bag reaches the housing box and before that may be different. This will make the design more complicated. Furthermore, this invention is designed to be a whole hard piece. It is very uncomfortable for the user to carry it under the clothes or to attach it to the skin.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,182 proposed a valve device using a membrane to seal the fluid inlet. The membrane is controlled by another pump-type device that needs another valves. The valve of this invention can be small but the overall apparatus is not if this invention is used for medicine infusion system. The medicine infusion system may not use this kind of valves. My present invention does not use it.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,835 proposed an infusion apparatus for constant rate. The apparatus is large and is not used under the user""s clothes or attached to the user""s skin. It is very uncomfortable for the user to carry it under the clothes or to attach it to the skin.
My present invention is different from all of the above in that the apparatus of my present invention is thin, flat, and flexible. The user will be comfortable to carry it under the clothes or to attach it to the skin. Other people will not notice that the user uses it unless the user shows it to others.
The users will feel much more convenient if the apparatuses are light, thin, flexible, and bendable to be comfortably taped to their skin. Then, they just feel like to use a large and thick Band-Aid. My present invention is to solve all the problems above.
The monitor and controller of the medication infusion apparatus can be separated from the main device to give the user more convenience.
My present invention presents conceptual medication infusion apparatuses that are light, thin, and flexible enough to be attached to the user"" skin. FIG. 9 shows a user wearing the apparatus. The medication infusion apparatus 10 is adhesive to the user""s skin 355. The medication is delivered to the user via the converging pipe 31 and the needle or cannula 335. The converging pipe 31 is taped to the user""s skin 355 by a tape 25. The users will feel like to use a big and thick Band-Aid. Or, use a band to tie the apparatus to the body. Or, the user just carries the apparatus under the clothes. Since everything is attached to the skin, they no longer feel to be connected to an external extra object via a pipe and feel much more convenient.